Reinforced Fabrics using SP1/CNT

SP Nano provides Fabric coating services together with a high quality assurance system.

We can coat glass polyester, carbon and aramid fabrics, and yarns with a nanometric dispersion of the SP1/CNT compex. SP1/CNT coating. enables our customers to produce lightweight composite products with superior strength, all at an affordable cost.

The SP1/CNT Complex

A genetically engineered SP1 was developed to form a complex with individually dispersed pristine CNT, the “SP1/CNT complex“, which uniquely binds to structural fabrics (carbon, glass and aramid fabrics), and can be dispersed in resins (epoxy, polyurethane and others).

Fabric coating with the SP1/CNT complex improves fabric adhesion to the resin, efficient load transfer and crack arrest by the SP1/CNT nanoparticles, and as a result improves the matrix-dominant mechanical properties of fabric-reinforced composites (FRC).

SP1/CNT complex dispersion specifications:

Pristine MW-CNT (Arkema)

CNT

L3; The recombinant L3SP1 protein

SP1 variant

Dry weight: 2.9±0.5

SP1/CNT wt/wt ratio

Pure protein: 20

Sonication

Dispersion method:

4% CNT in Sodium phosphate buffer (10mM; pH 8.0)

SP1/CNT concentration

<25% Precipitation after high speed centrifugation1

Short term stability

100% activity after >12 month incubation at 25 or 4oC

Long term stability

<25% Precipitation1 after for more than 45 days at 45oC

Extreme temperatures

Freezing: overnight; 100% Precipitation1

The dispersion is nanometric (120 nm), no changes in size distribution upon centrifugation

SP1/CNT complex size distribution2

1Was obtained by measuring the fraction of CNT remained in the supernatant upon centrifugation (0.1%; 20 min; 3000Xg). The concentrations of the SP1/CNT complex in dispersions were determined by flocculation followed by centrifugation and pellet dehydration & dry weight measurements.